Column: San Diego Public Library’s first children’s book: a coyote, an owl librarian and the power of a library card

For a little book, “Odi’s Library Day” is a pretty big deal.

It is the first children’s book to be published by the San Diego Public Library. The eight-page bilingual board book also marks the publication debut by writer Hunter Hackett and illustrator Anisi Baigude, two longtime San Diegans who met in a UCSD Extension art class.

And while there is no definitive proof that this is the first children’s book to star a gender-neutral coyote, it is certainly the first children’s book to show a gender-neutral coyote getting their first library card from an owl librarian.

The other thing that makes “Odi’s Library Day” extra special is Odi’s adventure, which is a reminder that the small act of getting a library card can open a world of possibilities.

In Odi’s case, that includes discovering a book about kites during storytime, making a kite in the library’s Innovation Lab, and flying the kite with some of their book-loving animal friends under the words, “Odi loves library day!”

“The goal for the book was to showcase the experience that a youth would have coming to the library,” said Ady Huertas, supervising librarian for youth and family services. “From the beginning to the end, it tells the story of getting your library card, then attending one of our programs, and then being inspired and connecting to other innovative resources that libraries have.”

“Odi’s Library Day,” written by Hunter Hackett and illustrated by Anisi Baigude

Before Odi was a coyote, Odi was an acronym. The name comes from the library’s vision statement: Opportunity. Discovery. Inspiration. The idea of turning that vision into a book began brewing last year, when library staff members were thinking about ways to improve outreach and connect with the community in a fun, relatable way.

Which is where Hackett and Baigude come in. As it happens, where they came in was directly through the doors of their nearest branch library.

It was 2014, and Hackett and Baigude had just completed their first project, a children’s book called “The Adventures of Galaxy Girl.” Eager for feedback, they took it to the Carmel Valley library to have an expert weigh in. They ended up meeting Youth Services Librarian Emily Derry, who liked the book and became a champion of their work.

Six years later, Derry had been promoted to youth and engagement coordinator, so when the idea of publishing a children’s book came up, she recommended Hackett and Baigude for the job. And when the budding creators (who are now engaged) were trying to figure out how turn ODI into Odi, they didn’t have to go far.

“We decided to make Odi a coyote because at the time, we were living in an apartment (in Sabre Springs) with this coyote family living in the nature trail next door. We heard them howling all the time, and when we would go for walks, we would see them,” said the 28-year-old Baigude, who works as a library assistant at the North Clairemont branch library.

“The fun part was referencing images of coyotes and other animals and doing my interpretation of them. It was just really fun to make all of these cute drawings. I loved everything about doing this.”

For Hackett, the challenging part was distilling Odi’s momentous day into a few simple sentences that would be easy for little readers to understand. His first version was way too long, but with the help of his brother, Dylan, he pared it down to the essentials. Like, “Odi loves to read.” And, “Odi loves to create.”

The sentences were short, but for two book-lovers who credit their mothers with introducing them to the joys of the library, the payoff has been sweet.

“This is our passion, and the book has exceeded our expectations in every way,” said the 31-year-old Hackett, a San Diego native who is a creative director for the Fer Sure Games mobile game development company.

“There are any number of other things we could do with Odi. We are so thrilled, and we just feel super lucky and thankful to the library. They are going to have to try really hard not to get us to do another one.”

Odi is new to the local literary scene, but the coyote has already made a big splash. San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria recently read “Odi’s Library Day” for the San Diego Festival of Books’ online children’s storytime. Huertas — who did “Odi’s” Spanish translation — created an Odi song, and Baigude will be designing an Odi library card. The library is working on an Odi costume for public events, and there is even talk of an Odi plush toy.

And now, Odi has discovered what every library patron knows by heart. That a little library card is always the start of something big.

“I keep thinking, ‘What is Odi going to do next?’” Huertas said. “There are so many fun things to do at the library. You never know where Odi can go.”

“Odi’s Library Day” is on sale at the Library Shop, libraryshopsd.org/odi. All proceeds support the San Diego Public Library.